In the Wild

Wild Porcupine Keeps Telling People That She Needs Help

Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter were taking a walk around their animal sanctuary on Saturday evening when they spotted a familiar friend: a wild porcupine they'd seen before - but something was different.

"She actually approached us, instead of walking away. When she got close, she stood up and looked at us," Jenkins said. "It was adorable but sad at the same time. We could see she wasn't well, and she was clearly asking for help."

"[W]e received a call from staff at the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary ... They had found a little porcupine that appeared to be injured and acting strangely," WHW wrote on Facebook. "Understanding the sense of urgency, we immediately reached out to a WHW volunteer to have this porcupine transported to our facility."

When the volunteer arrived, she found that the sanctuary staff had already safely contained the porcupine in a heated area ready for transport. They had even named the porcupine. No one knew if the animal was a boy or a girl yet (she'd turn out to be a lady), so they called her Gus.

Gus was quickly transported to the WHW facility for critical care - and it's lucky she was. She was very dehydrated, covered in lice and suffering from mange.

"Mange is a skin disease caused by skin mites that can form crusts so thick that eventually the animal affected cannot move. In the case of wild porcupines, they become so immobile they can no longer climb for food and will eventually starve," WHW wrote. "Gus was very lucky to have been found."

And while Gus still has a big recovery ahead of her, she was already more active after spending her first night in WHW's care.

This week she's made big strides, and everyone is really hopeful she'll have a swift comeback.

Gus is gaining strength from chowing down on fresh yams, apples, carrots and snap peas. But even this sick porcupine has her preferences.

"We have ... quickly discovered that Gus would prefer that broccoli be left off the menu," WCW said.

Jenkins is, meanwhile, looking forward to Gus's recovery. "We hear she's doing better, but has a long road ahead," Jenkins said. "As soon as she recovers fully, she'll be re-released at the farm. I loved seeing her around, it'll be nice to get her back where she belongs."